Federal charges sought

Investigators across metro Atlanta are looking to see whether they can press federal charges against people arrested as part of an ever-widening investigation into marijuana grow houses.

In all, more than three dozen houses have been raided across the region, thousands of marijuana plants seized and dozens of people arrested. Most of the houses were found in counties on the fringes of metro Atlanta, such as Barrow, Jackson and Walton counties.

While prosecutors may press federal charges that come with stiffer penalties, Gwinnett County police Cpl. Darren Moloney said officers now primarily are concerned with following up leads and raiding suspected grow houses.

"We're trying to get the drugs off the streets and make as many arrests as possible," Moloney said Thursday.

Moloney said the grow operations are part of "organized crime," but not necessarily gang-related.

Gang members typically wear similar clothing or colors and often have tattoos, Moloney said.

While investigators are weighing federal charges, a spokesman for David Nahmias, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, declined to say whether that office may take up the cases.

"We don't comment as to what we may be investigating," Nahmias' spokesman, Patrick Crosby, said.